Ravenden Springs Man Charged With Child Sex Abuse Images Found During Walmart Theft Investigation

POCAHONTAS, Ark. — A Ravenden Springs man accused of stealing hard drives from the Pocahontas Walmart in February has been charged with possessing sexual images of young children, material police say he showed an officer on his own phone during the theft interview.

Prosecuting Attorney Devon Holder on Monday charged Dawson James Nicholson, 21, with two felony counts of possessing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child. The second count is charged as a subsequent offense, which carries five to 20 years in prison.

Pocahontas police were investigating a theft on Feb. 22 and identified Nicholson as the suspect, according to a probable cause affidavit by Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Slade Weisenbach. During a recorded interview after he was read his rights, Nicholson admitted having child pornography and showed the images on his phone to Sgt. Trason Johnson, the affidavit said.

Officers obtained a search warrant for his home on Hall Road and seized every internet-capable device and storage device there, the affidavit said. At the sheriff’s office, Nicholson signed a consent form giving investigators access to his phone and iPad. The phone held several images of boys who appeared to be younger than 5 and numerous photos of boys about the same age in their underwear, according to the affidavit, which also recounts a statement Nicholson made about how he used the images.

The theft that started the investigation is a separate felony case. Nicholson is charged with commercial burglary and unlawful removal of a theft detection device. Walmart employees recognized him because he delivered orders for the store through its Spark program, and store video showed him cutting anti-theft tags off two boxed hard drives before walking out with nothing in his hands, Detective Sgt. Jeremiah Winslow wrote in that affidavit. Reached by phone, Nicholson admitted the theft, returned a hard drive and showed officers where he had left the empty boxes inside the store, the affidavit said.

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A district judge set Nicholson’s bail at $50,000 cash or professional bond the day after his arrest and barred him from using any device that can reach the internet and from attending events for children. He is represented by Amanda J. Thomas in the theft case, which Circuit Judge Rob Ratton had set for a jury trial this week.

Nicholson has not been arraigned on the new charges.